Child maltreatment: knowledge, attitudes and reporting behaviour of physicians in teaching hospitals, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Lack of diagnosis and reporting of child maltreatment are important problems worldwide. Aim: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of physicians in Alexandria University teaching hospitals about the diagnosis and reporting of child maltreatment cases. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at three hospitals. All physicians working regularly in emergency units were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of and formal training on child maltreatment, attitude to dealing with child maltreatment, and experience of child maltreatment cases and reporting behaviour. Results: A total of 90 physicians were included in the study. Only 11% correctly identified all the signs of child maltreatment and 29% correctly answered all questions on the social indicators of maltreatment. Only 41% of the participants had a good knowledge score (≥ 75%) on child maltreatment. Longer work experience (P = 0.019) and older age (P = 0.039) were associated with better knowledge. Of 249 suspected cases of child maltreatment that the physicians reported they had experienced, only 36% were reported. Formal training on child maltreatment 1 / 12 WHO EMRO | Child maltreatment: knowledge, attitudes and reporting behaviour of physicians in teaching (P < 0.001) and older age (P = 0.006) were associated with physicians' reporting behaviour. Over half (56%) of the participants thought their workplaces did not provide them with procedures to follow if they suspected child maltreatment. Conclusion: Physicians' knowledge of the signs and social indicators of child maltreatment was unsatisfactory. Clinical training and education are needed to improve their ability to diagnosis and report cases of child maltreatment.

Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness among Medical Students

“…It is important to teach this topic to medical students, as they are future physicians, and poor knowledge and awareness of CAN in medical students will increase the number of CAN cases going unnoticed [ 7 , 9 , 16 , 19 ]. In the literature, one study in Saudi Arabia comparing CAN awareness among medical interns and students in a local university in 2021 stated that knowledge of reporting systems in medical students was inadequate, and in another one, although medical students took formal training on CAN, many of them agreed on needing further training in this field [ 9 , 17 ].…”

Child maltreatment and management of pediatric patients during COVID-19 pandemic: Knowledge, awareness, and attitudes among students of medicine and surgery. A survey-based analysis

“…However, it is important to emphasize that, in contrast to research done in the pre-pandemic period, medical students are more familiar with this topic, and that this knowledge is mostly tied to the year of the course to which they belong (15)(16)(17). Indeed, after evaluating the significant variables in the regression, only the covariate on course year remained statistically significant on awareness of child maltreatment.…”

“…However, it is important to emphasize that, in contrast to research done in the pre-pandemic period, medical students are more familiar with this topic, and that this knowledge is mostly tied to the year of the course to which they belong ( 15 – 17 ).…”

Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behaviour (COM-B) model association with Egyptian dentists’ reporting of suspected abuse

“…However, without a system of mandated reporting, a society may be far less able to protect children because many cases of suspected abuse and neglect will not come to the attention of authorities [ 29 ]. In Egypt, the law does not mandate reporting of suspected abuse in children and health care professionals are not penalized if they do not report such cases [ 30 ]. Reporting, however, is mandated in many countries [ 5 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Previous research showed that dentists without training to manage suspected abuse were less likely to know how to report suspected abuse than those with training [ 35 ]. Also, prior studies including Egyptian physicians [ 30 ] and primary health care workers [ 36 ] similarly showed that health professionals needed training to be familiar with rules and supporting bodies so there seems to be a consensus that this training gap needs to be filled. Training that focuses on promoting positive attitudes towards reporting and increases awareness of existing laws, policies, and agencies in local context may lead to more reporting than training which aims exclusively at increasing the knowledge of the manifestations of abuse and how to identify abuse victims.…”